The King's Thief
by Can't-Escape-My-Fandoms
Summary: Emma Swan is a thief. One day she's challenged by her friend August Booth to steal King Killian's crown jewels. Emma had no idea that accepting August's challenge would change her life in more ways than she'd realize. A CS fic with other ships.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so this is a new project that I've been working on, and it's a CS fanfic, however, I am only posting chapter one here on fanfiction. Mostly because there will be smut, but also there will be Red Hook and Hookriel, as well as other relationships because this is kind of an AU where concubines are a thing. **

**So if you guys like this first chapter, the rest will be posted on AO3. My pen name there is CantEscapeMyFandoms, for those of you who want to read the rest. **

**Hope you guys enjoy it and hope you continue reading on AO3.**

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**Chapter 1: Thief in the Castle**

Emma Swan flattened herself against the wall of the castle as another guard walked by. Why was she doing this again? Oh right, because August was an asshole.

August Booth, like Emma, was an orphan. They were both raised in the same nunnery together, August being only seven years her senior. They had a older annoying brother-younger usually pissed off sister dynamic going on. It worked for them.

That and thieving.

Yep, Emma and August were thieves. Usually, they were solo acts, and usually they stole for survival. It was only when a job was rather risky or large that they would team up.

Except this one.

Oh no, this one had Emma all on her own, just because she couldn't stand August's gloating.

He boasted that he was the better thief, and Emma argued that she was better, so August presented a challenge: steal the King of the Enchanted Forest's crown jewels.

Really, King Killian was only King of Éire, the largest and grandest kingdom of the Enchanted Forest, making him the most powerful man in the entire realm, and it was due to just that fact, he was sometimes given title of King over all of the realm.

Even so, it was the riskiest undertaking Emma had taken on.

Castle Drogheda was a large maze with hundreds of guards and servants. Anyone could spot her, at any time. Granted it was well past midnight, and hours still until the sun came up, but Emma didn't spend decades as a thief without getting caught without an air of caution.

As she moved further into the castle, the more worried she became. She should've done more reconnaissance. She should've taken more time to figure out her game plan.

But August had challenged her only hours ago, and part of the challenge was to get in and successfully steal from the King without any information. She had to rely on her wits and instincts alone.

Hopefully, this castle would be similar enough to the previous castles she had robbed, so she could figure out where exactly the jewels were.

Hearing footsteps, Emma swiftly ducked down behind a large potted plant.

A man came through the hall, pausing just in front of her. This part of the hallway, luckily for Emma, was only lit by moonlight. From what Emma could tell, the man wasn't in a guard's uniform. However, that meant nothing. He could just be off duty and unable to sleep. He certainly had the build of a guard, all toned and muscled, well in shape.

His head turned toward her, looking at the plant.

Emma's breathing hitched.

He was handsome. Undoubtedly so, with messy black hair, a strong and chiseled jaw lined with ginger scruff.

But what really caught Emma's attention was his eyes, and while the incandescent blue was captivating, it was the utter loneliness in his eyes that really stood out. He was someone who knew what it was like to truly be alone.

Emma's heart clenched.

Another set of footsteps alerted both her and her unawares company to the arrival of someone new.

"Kil?" A male voice spoke. "What are you doing up?" His accent clearly wasn't that of Éire. It sounded more like the man was from Misthaven or well, the majority of the Enchanted Forest. Éire and the outlying kingdom of Sherwood had similar accents that differed from the rest of the Enchanted Forest. Emma often wondered if that was because Éire had a separate language, Gaelic, and that allowed for the accents.

The new man appeared in Emma's line of sight. He was handsome too, but nowhere near the level of handsomeness as this Kil was. He had blue eyes too, but his weren't the unusual, glowing forget-me-not of his friends. No, this new man's blue eyes were more of an crystal sky blue. His hair was much lighter too, a dirty blonde shade. He was also clean shaven, and a couple of inches taller than the other man.

"Couldn't sleep." Kil shrugged. He certainly sounded like he was from Éire.

"It's dangerous." The blonde man said.

Kil snorted. "Dave, I can take care of myself."

"Still, you never know just what's lying about in the shadows." Dave said, looking around.

Emma curled into herself, trying to make herself seem even smaller.

"You worry too much." Kil chuckled.

Dave sighed, seeming exasperated.

Emma had a feeling that the two of them had had this conversation before.

"Fine." Kil said. "If you're that worried, you can walk me back to my chambers. You can even check the windows and under my bed if you'd like."

Emma thought that was a strange thing to say. Why would a guard be so overprotective of another guard? The sudden realization froze her blood, the tingling in her head prickling her brain, her heart hammering in her chest.

A guard wouldn't be so overprotective of another guard. No. But he would be overprotective of his _king_.

Emma swallowed.

Kil….short for Killian. _King _Killian.

The King was standing right in front of her, in nothing more than a half buttoned cotton shirt, leather pants, and bare feet.

"Ha ha." Dave huffed. "Come on, then."

Killian followed his guard's command, and the two walked off, leaving Emma trembling in her hiding spot.

Holy crap, she was _this _close to the King. She could've gotten caught. It was one thing to be caught by the guards, but to be caught by the King? Who knows what could've happened? Emma certainly wasn't keen to find out.

After a few minutes, Emma held her breath, listening for any sounds, anything that said there were more guards. When the coast was clear, she took off, still reeling from the almost encounter she had with the King.

If that guard, Doug? Dan? or whatever, hadn't come when he did, Emma had a feeling that the King most certainly would've found her.

Shaking her head, she forced herself to focus.

She was here for a reason after all.

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Okay, so she was going to _kill _August.

Emma ran, guards on her tail, an alarm sounding around her. Her hand clutched a small leather satchel that only had a few of the jewels. The actual, big score jewels were crowns, swords, and scepters. None of those could fit in her small satchel, so she just grabbed as many rings, bracelets, and necklaces that she could.

She was almost halfway back to the way she came in when a younger guard caught her.

"Oi!" The man, a brunette with matching eyes, started at her appearance, and immediately went on the defensive.

It took Emma only a few seconds to dispatch him and run for it.

And now the asshole had alerted the rest of the guards.

Emma skidded around a corner, pausing just long enough to look for an escape. A door caught her eye, so she went with it, pushing it open, quickly closing it and locking it. Her forehead rested against the wood of the door as she tried to catch her breath quietly.

She turned around, back against the door, ready to check her satchel and ensure that her score was still there, but as her eyes scanned the room, they immediately landed on the King.

The King who was sitting in a chair, feet propped up, book in his hands, chest bare of his earlier shirt, eyebrows raised at her appearance.

Oh shit didn't even begin to cover Emma's reaction.

"I can only assume that you are the reason the alarms have sounded?" The King said, his tone sounded more amused than startled.

Emma didn't respond, trying to think of a way out of this. She could go back out into the hall, where guards would be on her in seconds, or she could try running past the King to the one window that led out to a balcony and hope the King wasn't fast enough to catch her.

The King stood and began to walk over to her.

A pounding on the door startled her.

_Shit. _She was trapped.

"Kil, open the door!" The same guard from earlier yelled.

The King paused, glancing at the door, before his eyes flicked back to her.

Emma trembled with fear, on the inside. She refused to show any to him, which was why she met his eyes with defiance.

The King arched a brow.

"Kil!" Sounded again, followed by another pounding on the door.

Emma swallowed.

The King stood mere inches away now, his intense eyes drilling holes into her own. "Shh." He whispered, before gently pushing her aside, unlocking the door. He opened it just a little bit. "I do hope you have a very good reason for interrupting my beauty sleep, Dave."

Dave! That was the guard's name.

"There's a thief in the castle." Dave said. "Will saw her coming out of the jewel room."

"I always did tell father that having all of the jewelry in one room and on display was a bad idea." The King sighed.

"Killian." Dave groaned. "We need to check your room."

"David, I assure you, there is no the thief in my room." The King said.

"She could be armed." Another voice intoned.

"_She_?" The King sounded a mixture of surprised and amused.

Emma was impressed at his acting capabilities.

"Well now, I most certainly would know it if a woman was in my chambers." The King licked his lips and wiggled his eyebrows.

"Killian." David growled. "This is not the time to fool around. For all we know, she could be an assassin too."

The King groaned, opening the door so wide that Emma had to back up against the wall.

She felt the King, well she assumed it was him, lean against the door as the guards charged in.

The only sounds after that were the guards turning the room inside out.

"Oh, like anyone could fit in there." The King huffed.

"Just being safe." Another guard said.

Emma didn't know the King at all, but she could've sworn that she felt his eye roll on the other side of the door.

Some minutes later, the King sighed. "Alright lads, now that my room has officially been tossed about, can you please leave so I can rest?"

David sighed. "All right men, let's go."

"Yes, yes, leave." The King said. "You've wasted enough time searching the air in here."

"You're snippier than usual." David said. "You all right?"

"Just tired." The King replied.

The guards left the room soon after that, the King shutting the door hard behind them. He turned to Emma. "We've yet to be properly introduced." He held out his hand. "Killian."

Emma stood back, eyeing him warily. "Why didn't you hand me over to your guards?"

"Ah, so you're not a local lass." Killian said. "Where are you from then?"

"I'm not telling you anything, buddy." Emma glared. "Now, answer my question."

Killian's brows shot up.

Emma inwardly cringed, waiting for the I'm-the-King card to drop.

Killian shrugged. "Fair enough. I didn't turn you in, because I wanted to hear your side of things first. If the guards found you, then I'd be forced to jail you. If I give you your chance to speak, then, maybe I'll consider letting you go."

Her jaw hit the floor. "Excuse me?"

"Is that surprising?" Killian stepped forward.

"Yeah." Emma said. "Most royals, as far as I'm aware, would rather lock someone up immediately for even daring to set foot inside their castles let alone stealing their crown jewels."

"Ah, so you have stolen from me?" Killian smirked. "And the crown jewels no less?" He gave her a once over. His eyes found the satchel that was still in her grasp. "May I?"

Emma pulled the satchel out of his reach.

"Really? They're _my_ jewels."

"I stole them fair and square."

Killian actually laughed. "Are you serious? Look, lass, let me just see what you took, and you can have them back, and tell me why you stole them."

What the hell was this guy? Emma was confused. He was king, but he sure as hell wasn't acting like one. Not that Emma knew any kings or any royalty personally…but she had a feeling that this guy wasn't like other royals.

Cautiously, Emma handed over the satchel.

Killian took it over to his desk where an oil lamp was lit. He emptied it, finding the small trinkets that Emma had taken. He sifted through them, before scooping them back in the bag and tossing it back to her.

Emma caught it effortlessly.

"So, why are you here stealing my stuff?" Killian asked.

Emma's eyes narrowed. "You really want to know why?"

"Well, if you would prefer a jail cell, all I have to do is subdue you."

Emma scoffed. "Please, you couldn't handle it."

He was much faster than Emma anticipated. His breath fanned over her face, blue eyes striking in the shadows of the lamp light. "Perhaps, you're the one who couldn't handle it."

Emma's breath hitched, eyes fluttering. Shit. She had to get out of here. She gripped the satchel tightly, and stepped away from him. "Maybe some other time." Before he could respond to that, Emma swung the satchel at his head, hitting him on right side of his face.

He stumbled back, caught off guard.

Emma took advantage of his surprise and rushed for the window, opening the glass panned doors, and hopping out onto the balcony. Just as she began to scale down the balcony, she caught one last glimpse of him.

He was looking at her, not with anger, but with intrigue.

Emma wondered what that was about for only a split second before she continued her descent of the castle wall.

It was well past time to get the hell out of here.

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**So you can leave reviews if you like, but as I said, this is the only chapter that will be on fanfiction due to the fact that there will be smut and I don't want to worry about that Critics United Bullshit. But also, as I said, this isn't just a CS fic. It's lowborn CS with other Killian ships. Also Snowing, Red Huntsman, and other ships will be a thing. **

**Hope you guys come read on AO3. :)**


	2. The Effects That People Have

**Okay, so due to me being cautious with the ratings, this is not the full on second chapter. This is just an excerpt. For the full chapter, you guys can go to archive of our own. My pen name: CantEscapeMyFandoms, but if you can't find it try searching for my stories in the once fandom. They're all the same titles save Swan Confessions. Just in case, here's the link to my AO3 dash: ** /users/CantEscapeMyFandoms/works

**Fair warning, the beginning of the full second chapter on AO3 has Red Hook smut. As I said, multiple Killian pairings and slow burn CS.**

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August was actually shocked that she managed to escape with something to show for it.

Emma punched him in the face.

And when he asked for the jewels to sell, Emma punched him again. There was no way in hell she was letting him get his hands on her take.

Even so, a week and another two kingdoms away from Éire, Emma still hadn't sold the jewels. And she was pissed.

That damn bastard had gotten under her skin.

He wasn't like anyone she had ever met. A king who seemed to care less about his jewels than actually talking to her.

Emma scoffed. He probably didn't care about the jewels because he could afford to lose them, or he was really stalling for time, trying to get her to let her guard down.

But he introduced himself as Killian. Not as the King, not as anyone really, just Killian.

He also seemed genuinely interested in her, why she was stealing, and he seemed to have a sense of humor about the whole situation.

Then there was the way he looked at her after she hit him. He looked at her as if he wanted to know every part of her. Every truth, every secret, everything. That scared the shit out of her.

All of that had thrown her, but nothing more so than the way he looked in the corridor.

_Alone_. The most powerful man in the realm, a man who had a multitude of concubines to warm his bed, guards at his beck and call, people who adored him, the respect of the other monarchs and subjects of the realm, all of the wealth anyone could ask for, and the one person who had final say in the goings on of the realm. And he looked truly alone. As if all of that meant nothing, as if he was still missing something in his life.

Emma was on the opposite end. She wasn't powerful, or rich. She had no titles, or friends, or anything really, except August and that was tenuous at best. She was an orphan. Yet, she felt…a connection with the King. He was just as lonely as she was.

Emma shook her head.

She was being ridiculous.

Utterly and completely ridiculous.

She couldn't have a connection with a king, _the _king. It was beyond stupid. She was a thief, a commoner, a nobody.

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**I hope you guys are interested enough to go read on AO3. Honestly, I love fanfiction and I'm not an AO3 fan, but I'm worried about the ratings, so until fanfiction implements an MA/Explicit rating, I'm sticking with AO3. Unfortunate, but it is what it is. **


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